I'm sorry (bracing for criticism) I just don't see what the obsession with Zadina is.

Sure we drafted him high, but the kid has 25 pts in 40 some games in the AHL. That's not impressive....

I got a lot of crap earlier this year for being critical of him, but his stats only seem to reinforce my point... this kid is the next yakupov. I've watched him play and I'm not at all impressed. Veleno and McIsaac are going to outstrip him. Eat me alive if you must...

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How many kids jump into the AHL right after the draft and produce such numbers? From his draft year, I can only think of 3 other players jumping in and producing alright numbers (All guys taken in the 1st round):

How many kids jump into the AHL right after the draft and produce such numbers? From his draft year, I can only think of 3 other players jumping in and producing alright numbers (All guys taken in the 1st round):

How many kids jump into the AHL right after the draft and produce such numbers? From his draft year, I can only think of 3 other players jumping in and producing alright numbers (All guys taken in the 1st round):

I think Zadina has done very well when you compare him to his peers, and it's even more encouraging that he has produced this well despite his slow start.

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Thank you for posting that. I mean even going outside of points, looking at Zadina game one to Zadina now, there's a noticeable difference. He's finding space better. He's more comfortable with the puck on his stick now. He's doing a better job of using his vison (underrated quality imo) and he's more engaged defensively. He's not a two way forward but he's not a liability either. He's progressing just fine.

It's been a highly productive draft slot, but it's been an interesting dichotomy. Each player either stayed in the WHL/OHL for his D+1 season, and put up PPG or better, or jumped straight to the NHL, with solid D+1 production. Zadina is by himself in going to the AHL for D+1, and then ended up getting hurt for awhile.

Overall, I understand some fans hoping for a hotter start to his career, but I think he just had some unique circumstances and the kid will be fine in the long run.

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Kids drafted out of juniors aren't eligible to play in the AHL, so it has to be either the NHL or juniors, Their team has to decide whether or not they're ready, like the WIngs did with Raz.

Zadina is Euro, and so are all of the AHL players listed above (a few posts).

Filip Zadina HIGHLIGHTS in AHL. He has great vision and his puckhandling is absolutely insane, reminds me of Filip Forsberg.

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Thanks for sharing. One thing I like about this video is it's not just his goals or assists. This will hopefully reassure some people that are just stat watching. You can see a few times in this video where he makes a terrific play to set up a teammate and it goes nowhere.

And yes, the biggest thing for him this summer is he needs to gain muscle. He has the instincts to shield the puck like a Zetterberg, but he doesn't have the muscle to pull it off most of the time.

I thought he would be better in the AHL than he has so far (at least from a production standpoint). He is definitely farther behind physically than I originally thought.

I’d give him at least 1 summer to work on his skating + strength before writing him off. I’m thinking/hoping this season has lit a fire under him to make some gains there. I actually really like that Holland said he was going to call him up so Zadina could get a feel for the NHL game, I think that’s a great way to motivate him for the summer to work his ass off once he sees how fast and strong everyone is.

Still have a lot of belief in him, now it’s time for him to put he work in and we will see how he responds.

He wearing Cleary's number? Isn't he worried about doing justice to a legend?

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I know people bag on Cleary because of those ridiculous contracts at the end of his career, but for the majority of his time with the Wings Cleary was a 20 goal 40 point utility player who was never afraid to go into corners or back down from anyone.

I'd take a guy like that in a heartbeat. Hopefully the Wings have that in Bertuzzi.

And it's good to see Zadina getting a taste of the NHL. Hopefully it will motivate him to work his ass off this offseason.